How to Turn Your PC into a Recording Studio with Free Home Recording Software

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If you’ve ever dreamed of having a recording studio, but you still think it’s either too expensive or too hard to learn, then today may bring you a dream-come-true. If you say “home recording software” to anyone someone, the response you’re likely to get back (if any) is Pro Tools, which is probably the industry standard in home recording software. But it won’t run on your computer without some sort of hardware companion in the form of a special sound card or another audio interface of some kind. You’re going to be spending over $100 for any kind of Pro Tools set-up.

But what if I told you that there was software out there free of charge? It can do more than you need it to for learning all the basics of audio recording for the cost of….nothing! It’s not shareware, and it’s not a 30-day trial. It’s open-source software called Audacity, and you can download it right now. Audacity is both a multi-track and audio editing program.

So let’s take inventory to see if you already have a home recording studio. Do you have a computer built in the last 10 years? Do you have an internet connection? Do you have any sort of microphone? If you answered “yes” to all those questions, congratulations. You have a pc home recording studio. If you don’t have the microphone, don’t worry. For starting out all you need (in fact I highly recommend it) is a plastic pc mic that can be had from any store that sells electronics (Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, Target, Walmart…you get the idea) for around $5.00. So at the most, a majority of you will be able to set up a home recording studio for $5.00 or less. Sweet, huh?

But now you may be wondering about how hard it will be to learn how to put stuff together and how to use it. You may think it’ll be hard to learn. But it turns out it isn’t…not if it’s done right. Many websites have tutorials on how to use Audacity. At Home Brew Audio, you’ll find step-by-step instruction videos that take you from absolute beginner to making your first recording all in about 30 minutes. That recording will be your voice, with music behind it, introducing a podcast. Follow-on video lessons teach you how to do some basic editing, multitrack recording, and basic audio effects, all with Audacity.

So what are you waiting for? It isn’t every day you get to make a dream come true for $5.00 and 30 minutes of your time:).